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Boca Raton, FL Prominent hair restoration surgeon and lecturer Alan J. Bauman, M.D. is warning consumers that unqualified surgeons may soon begin offering a new type of hair transplant called the NeoGraft FUE, based on recent data from the device’s distributor.

Notwithstanding the warning, Dr. Bauman is strongly supportive of the new NeoGraft device, which offers a no-scalpel, no-stitch hair transplant solution.

“NeoGraft is revolutionizing hair loss treatment by making the ‘Cadillac’ of less invasive hair transplantation procedures, known as FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction), more available to patients,” said Bauman, a board-certified hair restoration surgeon and the first to demonstrate a NeoGraft hair transplant at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery’s Orlando Live Surgery Workshop. “It’s no surprise that NeoGraft is attracting large numbers of hair loss sufferers, since it offers our patients a more comfortable recovery, quicker return to athletic activity and no tell-tale linear scar.”

However, Bauman said he feels compelled to remind consumers that, as remarkable as NeoGraft is, it is still just a “tool” – and it is not a substitute for a qualified hair transplant surgeon and surgical team. Any type of hair transplant surgery still requires a properly trained surgeon and an experienced surgical team in order to deliver quality results, Bauman noted.

“How the harvested follicles (grafts) are handled by the surgical team and how they are artistically placed into the scalp by the surgeon still determines the naturalness, density and results from the procedure,” Bauman said. “If the follicles are ‘mishandled’ by an inexperienced team of technicians or without appropriate magnification and instrumentation, graft survival may be impacted - thereby squandering precious donor hair follicles. Also, if the surgeon does not have an aesthetic sense and understand the subtle nuances of hairline design, the naturalness of the results can ultimately suffer. In the worst cases, these unnatural hairlines may require repair.”

The number of NeoGraft hair transplant devices in North America has more than quadrupled since last year and now tops 40, according to the device’s distributor, NeoGraft Resource Group. This has already prompted warnings from consumer groups like the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA).

“NeoGraft may be a helpful tool, but it’s important for consumers to understand that only a handful of hair transplant surgeons in the field have the level of skill and experience that it takes to perform FUE to state-of-the-art standards,” said Spencer Kobren, AHLA founder, best-selling author and consumer advocate. “The message here is to do your homework and choose your surgeon wisely. Not all NeoGraft practitioners are created equal.”

Bauman, who has 15 years of hair transplant experience and eight years of experience with FUE, advises patients to seek out hair transplant doctors who are certified in hair restoration surgery by the American Board of Hair Restoration or recommended by the American Hair Loss Association. To further help patients, Bauman recently created a special NeoGraft questionnaire, adapted from the AHLA and the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, which patients can use when evaluating a hair transplant surgeon. See the attached questionnaire.

Bauman points out that in the vast majority of cases, hair transplant surgeons are not purposely looking to ‘hide’ anything from their patients. As physicians, they are ethically, morally and professionally bound to disclose their experience and expertise when it comes to any particular treatment, procedure or technique. It is ultimately the patient’s obligation to ‘do their homework’ and choose which criteria are most important to them.

Alan J. Bauman, M.D., founder of Bauman Medical Group in Boca Raton, Florida, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon who has been featured extensively in the national and international print and television media, such as Newsweek, The New York Times, Cosmo, Vogue, Allure, W, Men’s Health, BBC (London), Il Terreno (Milan), Plastica y Estetica (Sao Paolo), NBC’s Today show, CBS’s The Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, Extra, Access Hollywood, CNN, MSNBC and Dateline NBC.

Dr. Bauman is a top U.S. medical expert on hair loss and restoration for men and women, including eyelash, eyebrow and scalp transplants, FUE as well as low level laser therapy. Dr. Bauman was the first to demonstrate the NeoGraft FUE method of hair transplantation at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery's Orlando Live Surgery Workshop in April 2010. Known for his expertise in female hair loss, approximately 50-percent of Dr. Bauman's patients are women. Dr. Bauman has been accepted by the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, recommended by the American Hair Loss Association, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and is a featured lecturer at International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery Annual Meeting, Live Surgery Workshops and other major medical conferences. Websites: http://www.baumanmedical.com and http://www.youtube.com/baumanmedical.

NeoGraft is the only FDA-approved device for automated FUE-type hair follicle harvesting. A fourth-generation medical device, NeoGraft represents significant ergonomic and functional enhancements over previous versions which were more cumbersome, less efficient and less accurate hair transplant devices called Omnigraft and Calvitron. NeoGraft helps the hair transplant surgeon and his team harvest hair follicles for transplantation using a technique called FUE or Follicular Unit Extraction. FUE-type harvesting leaves no tell-tale linear scar and has a quicker, more comfortable and less restricted recovery. NeoGraft hair transplants have been featured on Rachael Ray’s “Plastic Surgery Breakthroughs,” CBS Early Show, South Florida TODAY, and numerous other news segments around the country.